Dash Lights Help

[Andy K.]

Good Morning,
Before I start taking everything apart, maybe I can get lucky with a simple suggestion...
My 65 roadster dash and clock lights suddenly stopped working. I checked the fuse. Replaced the headlight switch. Turning the light knob to dim the dash lights does nothing. However, my headlights, parking, tail lights, brake lights and inside courtesy lights do work.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Andy

[Ken A.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

Check your fuse panel

[Andy K.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

Thanks Ken, will do.

[John H.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

Make sure you have power on the clips on both ends of the fuse; the outboard side is power "in" to the fuse, and the inboard side is power "out" to the gray wire that feeds all the bulbs.

[William C.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

It doesn't take more than a little rust in the fuseblock clips to keep the lamps from functioning, so a gentle cleaning is ok, Don't get too aggressive as the original clips are hardened (spring) steel, plated with a layer of copper then a thin layer of silver plating.

[Andy K.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

Thanks John and Bill.

[Andy K.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

Dash Lights Update:
I cleaned the fuse clips and cleaned both fuse sockets on the engine side of the firewall. Only the bottom 2 fuses are getting power, the top 4 fuses are not getting power inboard or outboard. However, everything works except the dash lights, clock included. I have headlights, parking lights, brake lights, courtesy lights, backup lights and a functioning heater fan.
My 65 has not been restored, it is a great driver which logs 2 - 4K miles each year.
Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.

[John M.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

Andy,
Here's a problem we had on a 66. The brake light switch on the column has a metal housing where the case is grounded. With the leads reversed, no obvious polarity, we lost the dash lights. Check those wires or maybe some other wire in that circuit has a ground problem.

[John H.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

Dash Lights Update:
I cleaned the fuse clips and cleaned both fuse sockets on the engine side of the firewall. Only the bottom 2 fuses are getting power, the top 4 fuses are not getting power inboard or outboard.

Andy -

Sounds like you may have open circuits on the feed side of the top four fuses due to corrosion or wire breakage. Photo below shows the fuse block opened up, and as you can see at the far right of the photo, the bottom two fuses are fed by the red wire, and the top four fuses are fed by the green, brown, and pink wires.

See my "Vintage Tech Bench" column in the current (August) issue of "Corvette Enthusiast" magazine for more detail.

[Andy K.]

Re: Dash Lights Help

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I was finally able to get enough time to check out the possibilities. Fortunately, a simple replacement of the headlight switch solved the problem.
I hope your next repair solution is as simple as mine was.
Best wishes,
Andy